All posts tagged Reed Hastings

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, seen here in San Francisco in a file photo from Sept. 22, 2011.

By Sven Grundberg and John D Stoll

Netflix Inc. Chief Executive Reed Hastings said Monday that the economic troubles hanging over Europe are not expected to negatively impact the launch of its online video streaming service in the Nordics.

Mr. Hastings, speaking to The Wall Street Journal in Stockholm on the day Netflix launched in Sweden, said his product is “somewhat counter-cyclical,” because of the relative low price offered to customers.

“To the degree that there are economic issues, that is unfortunate. But it makes people look for bargains and Netflix is a great bargain,” Mr. Hastings said.

Swedes will be given the opportunity to try out Netflix free of charge for a month, after which the service will cost SEK79 ($11.79) a month. The California-based company, which originally built its business around delivering DVDs by mail, will launch its online service in Norway, Denmark and Finland, later this week.

Netflix started considering an expansion into the Nordics a year ago and has spent the past six months negotiating content deals with copyright holders in the region and setting up technical infrastructure.